“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle

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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Banned From Boston: Innocent Mistake or Cheating?

"I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating." ~ Sophocles

Let's suppose that you've qualified for Boston in the past, say for both 2014 and 2015. Let's say you register are accepted but are unable to run due to circumstances beyond your control. You figure, well, I have this bib might as well let someone else use it since I worked hard for it and paid for it. Then the BAA is tipped off and you are banned from all future BAA races. You claim your mistake was 'innocent' and, in retrospect, a huge mistake. But you are sorry. You believe that this could happen to anyone.

Should you be banned?

This is the story of Gia Alvarez, a popular blogger and coach (!!!). This, an innocent mistake at best or a brief lapse of judgement at worst, something she claims we have all done, is why she is not running Boston 2016. I beg to differ. I believe that the real issue is an ethical issue, not the one she is responding to. I hate giving her more traffic, but you read and decide:Why I’m not running Boston 2016. A Cautionary Tale.
She opens with: "Otherwise titled …. It Could Happen to You."

On the face of it the bib rule is NOT the issue I really care about - though I am well aware that this is an issue for races concerning logistics, safety, etc. And the BAA has a right to set the rules for their races! Violate the rules and pay the price. All runners must recognize this and accept the consequences - and if you don't know the rules find out! Ignorance in this case is no excuse. In my opinion this was not just a little lapse of good judgement.

What she doesn't say in the piece, though is what's important to me. This is the timeline she gives:Missed Boston 2014 due to a miscarriage.Missed Boston 2015 because she was pregnant.

So the question is: What qualifier did she use for Boston 2016? The answer seems to be Boston 2015, which her friend ran in 3:22:41. SHE does not have a qualifier any more recent than Chicago 2013 (according to the records I can find - if someone wants to prove otherwise I am open!). And the timeline concerning both the miscarriage and the pregnancy make it almost impossible for her to have run another qualifier.

I was in a similar situation 3 years ago when I injured myself 12 days before Boston 2013 and ultimately made the decision to drop-out. I could have given my bib to someone else. Perhaps they would have run a nice BQ for me. But no. I dropped out and set off, after recovering form my injury, to qualify again. And so I ran Boston 2015. Then I qualified some more.

As a coach myself, I believe that I have a moral duty to adhere to a professional code of ethics. Cheating is just not part of that code. She too is a coach and I cannot imagine what sort of example this sets for others - She writes this piece, claiming that she wants to make an example of herself while refusing to answer the question about her 2016 qualifying time. As a coach this is an unacceptable breach of any reasonable code of professional ethics.

So, while we may take issue with the 'rules' that seem silly, the real issue here is that she cheated and used someone elses time for her Boston 2016 registration. I'm sure she can somehow justify this due to the fact that she could have run a qualifier (based on her other times) - but she didn't. Oh well. Requalify for 2017 after recovering from pregnancy and a c-section!

I don't think it matters in the least that she is capable of running the time. She didn't run this time in this race. Worse, her cheating took one spot from someone who DID run a qualifying race.

The poor me, I'm a victim of silly rules, this could happen to anyone position and attitude is just wrong!

"Otherwise titled …. It Could Happen to You." ???????????????

No. This won't happen to me because I won't cheat. You may have 'innocently' broken the rules, but you don't deserve to run because you do not have a qualifier. That is simple and clear. You cheated. Period. This transgression may seem like much ado about nothing to some, but liars and cheaters really burn my toast! And when one tries to imply that they are just like me, just like all of us, I want to scream, NO no no. Not so.

Sorry. But this is NOT a cautionary tale. And the only 'victim' is that one person who might be running instead of you. Cheaters suck!

1 comment:

cheating can't be part of the game. Not for a coach. Not for a runner. If you,me or someone else drops out of a marathon for whatever reason, he should not use someone else's time to qualify for the next rest. Simple as that

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About Me

I've been running since I was 8 years old, and several decades later, I'm still at it. I am an IAAF L5/USATF L3 Endurance, USATF L2 Endurance/Speed/Hurdles/Relays, RRCA, and Lydiard Certified running coach, a runner, a mother, a climber, and a philosopher (as in, I like to think about and examine questions that are difficult, if not impossible, to answer). These are the five attributes that I believe best sum up the central aspects of my life.